Different Types of Kokomo Opalescent Glass

At Kokomo Opalescent Glass, we offer four types of sheet glass. Cathedral, opalumes, streaky, and opalescent combinations.

Cathedral is a single-color translucent glass which allows light to pass through it. The light is refracted as it does so.

Because minute imperfections occur during the manufacturing process, the glass will also reflect a bit of the light, even our clear will reflect some light. This is why we call the glass translucent as opposed to transparent.

Whether it is clear or tinted, you can usually see through a piece of cathedral glass. Kind of like a pair of sunglasses, cathedral glass can have darker and lighter tint to it.

Cathedral glass is great for doors, windows, dividers, suncatchers, and ornaments of all kinds.

An opalume is a single-color dense glass that is more opaque in nature than a cathedral. Opalumes will reflect most of the light, when backlit, an opalume will appear to glow.

You cannot see through an opalume. Many of our opalumes, but not all, have the letter D at the end of their name such as 160WD.

Like cathedral glass, opalumes are a great choice for use in doors, windows, and suncatchers.

Because they are opaque, an opalume is also an excellent choice for mosaics and beadmaking.

Streaky combinations, or simply streakies, are a mixture of two or more cathedral colors. Kokomo streaky glass will have noticeable variegations, which are differently colored zones in the glass. Some refer to this as mottled.

Streakies may combine clear with one or more colors, or they may be a mix of tinted glass. We will mix up to five colors together in a streaky. Each sheet is hand mixed which means that no two are ever quite the same.

Like cathedrals, you can see through a streaky, although not as easily. A streaky sheet tends to both refract and reflect more light than a cathedral.

When one of our textures are used, the glass can look so amazing that many people will use it without doing anything else to it!

A KOG streaky is also a wonderful choice for doors, windows, transoms, suncatchers, and ornaments.

When we take one of our opalumes and combine it with another of our glasses, we call it an opalescent combination. Our opalescent combinations will always contain at least one opalume, the other color or colors may be opalume, cathedral, or both. This is known in some circles as marbleized.

Like our streakies, an opalescent combination will have distinct variegations throughout it. We hand mix up to five colors in an opalescent, no two sheets are the same!

Kokomo is most famous for its opalescent combinations, which we’ve been making since 1888.

Depending on the density, color choice, and volume of colors, an opalescent combination will have varying degrees of translucency, opacity, refraction, and reflection. You may or may not be able to see through any given part of the sheet.

Smooth or textured, many people find our opalescent combinations a delightful choice without any other adornment.

An opalescent glass combination from Kokomo is the perfect choice for any decorative glass project!

To recap; a cathedral is a single color that you can see through, an opalume is a single color that you cannot see through, a streaky is a combination of two or more cathedrals, and an opalescent combination is a blend that contains one opalume and at least one other cathedral or opalume.